


between the lines

by taemochi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Confused Mark, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Rivalry, Slow Burn, stubborn hyuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-15 08:46:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17525525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taemochi/pseuds/taemochi
Summary: they say there's only a thin line between love and hate.





	1. one fateful summer

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i started a [markhyuck au](https://twitter.com/peachyhoneys/status/1039684924125728769) on twitter but i decided to move it here since it fits the format better. 
> 
> please be patient with updates as i have 2 jobs and will be going back to school next week ): 
> 
> only partially edited bc i'm lazy, sorry

_12 years ago_

it was a warm summer day in july when donghyuck’s family moved in next door from jeju island. mark was in his backyard, swinging on the swingset his dad had just installed a few days ago. 

the loud rumble of the moving truck had piqued mark’s interest, and he got off the swing to peek around the house to see what was going on. 

he sees a husband and wife carrying cardboard boxes stacked on top of one another, and a boy about his age laughing and running circles around their legs. their tanned skin glowed in the sunshine, indicating that they probably spent a fair amount of time outdoors. 

“donghyuck, honey, please don’t run like that. you’ll get hurt.” 

“i’ll be okay mommy, i’m a big boy!” the boy, _donghyuck_ responds. 

“go wait inside while we finish taking in the rest of the boxes, we don’t have much left,” donghyuck’s mother instructs. 

donghyuck pouts but follows his mother’s orders. 

mark goes back inside the house to look for his mother and finds her in the kitchen, getting ready to make dinner. 

“mom, guess what,” mark says, tugging at the bottom of her shirt.

“what, sweetie?” his mom replies, looking down and tugging on mark’s cheek. 

mark makes a face and pulls away. “we have new neighbors moving in next door! i saw them taking boxes inside the house.”

“oh, that’s right, the lee family from jeju,” his mom responds. “we should go introduce ourselves after dinner.” 

“wow, their last name is lee too?” mark asks, feeling excited. “i saw a boy around my age, i think i heard his mom say his name was donghyuck.”

“that’s good, it’ll be nice for you to have someone your age around,” his mom answers. “you two could play over the summer. he’s probably going to enroll in the same elementary school as you.” 

“yeah! i could tell people that he’s my long lost brother because we have the same last name,” mark exclaims. 

his mother laughs, finding his excitement over the thought of making a new friend adorable. 

“okay, i’ll hurry and finish making dinner so we can head over there as soon as possible,” his mom says. “go tell your dad we’re going to eat soon.” 

mark heads off to his father’s office, pushing the door open and padding over to the desk chair where his father sits. 

“mom told me to tell you that we’re eating dinner soon,” mark announces. “and we’re going next door to meet the other lee family that moved in.” 

“i forgot they were moving in today,” his father replies absentmindedly, ruffling mark’s hair. “thanks for letting me know.” 

“i’m gonna make a new friend!” mark declares, smiling wide. 

his dad smiles down at him. “now you’ll have someone to use that second swing, huh?” 

mark nods, walking back towards the living room where his toys are scattered from his pretend godzilla scene from earlier. he plays around with his hot wheels until his mom calls out saying that dinner is ready. 

tonight they’re having fried chicken, mark’s favorite. he munches away happily, crispy pieces of skin gathering on the plate. 

“what’s for dessert?” mark questions, mouth still half full. 

“lee minhyung, do not talk with your mouth full,” his mom scolds, wiping away oil from the corner of his mouth. “and i got a strawberry pie from the store earlier, but i think we should save some to bring with us when we go next door.” 

“that sounds like a good idea,” his dad adds. “you wanna hold the pie, mark?” 

“yes please,” mark replies. 

after cleaning off the table, mark follows his parents to their new neighbor’s doorstep, holding the pie carefully in his little hands to make sure it doesn’t drop. 

his mother rings the doorbell and waits for someone to answer the door. after a few seconds, the door opens and reveals the woman mark saw earlier, as well as donghyuck, clinging on to her right leg. 

“hello!” mark’s mom greets pleasantly. “we just wanted to stop by and welcome you to the neighborhood. we live in the house next door.” 

“hi! sorry i look a mess, unpacking really wore me out,” donghyuck’s mother responds. “my husband is already asleep, i think.”

“oh, it’s fine,” mark’s mom reassures. “we actually brought over the leftover pie we had for dinner, i hope you like strawberries.” 

“say hello, mark,” mark’s dad instructs, moving him to stand in front of them. 

“hi, i’m lee minhyung, but you can just call me mark,” mark says, holding up the pie. 

“what a cutie,” donghyuck’s mom coos, lifting the pie from mark’s grasp. “this is my son, donghyuck.” 

donghyuck looks up at mark’s parents before settling his gaze on mark’s face. there’s an inquisitive look in his eyes, and his chubby cheeks are puffed out a little like he’s concentrating on something. 

“i saw you earlier,” donghyuck states. “you were watching us.”

mark feels his face turn red. “i just heard the moving truck and wanted to see what was going on!”

“hyuckie, be nice,” donghyuck’s mom warns. 

“i’m donghyuck, and i’m 6 years old. i like singing and playing outside,” donghyuck says. 

“i like playing outside too!” mark replies. “my dad just built a swingset and it has two swings, so you can come over and swing with me if you want.” 

donghyuck looks at him for a moment before responding. “okay.” 

“alright, it was nice to meet you. we should head back now so you can rest,” mark’s mother says. “donghyuck is welcome to come over anytime.” 

“same for mark!” 

before mark goes to bed that night, he thinks about all the things he and donghyuck can do together over the summer before school starts. he’s still buzzing with excitement when he eventually drifts off to sleep. 

the next morning, donghyuck is at mark's door bright and early. mark hasn't even finished eating his toast, so his mom invites donghyuck to sit at the table and have some toast as well. 

donghyuck politely refuses, saying he had already eaten but that he would like some strawberry milk, if they had any. they do, mostly because it's mark's favorite kind too. 

mark stores that bit of information away in his mind as another thing he and donghyuck have in common. 

“i'm here to play on your swingset,” donghyuck states after taking a sip. 

mark swallows the last piece of toast in his mouth. “okay, let me go put my shoes on.” 

donghyuck follows mark to the back door, eyes shining when he sees the swings gently moving in the breeze. 

“my dad got the full size set instead of the kiddie one so i can use it even if i grow,” mark explains. 

“cool,” donghyuck mumbles, walking towards the swings. “wanna see who can go higher?” 

“you're on.” 

and so began their friendship. that summer, mark could count the days he _didn’t_ see donghyuck on one hand, and he wouldn't have it any other way. 

they were attached at the hip, always playing with their toys, running around the block, sitting on the swings, or watching cartoons while drinking strawberry milk through matching swirly straws. 

mark and donghyuck become best friends, the kind that knew each other like the back of their hand. even when school started and donghyuck was in the class below him, mark would always find him at recess and sit together with him on the bus to and from school. 

they learned how to ride bikes together, took swimming lessons together - even pulled out loose teeth together. 

mark was there to patch up donghyuck’s knees when he took up roller skating, always listened when donghyuck randomly burst into song, and comforted him when he cried. 

donghyuck was there to cheer mark on during his swim meets, holding up obnoxiously colorful signs double his size. he pushed mark to come out of his shell at school, and encouraged him to learn how to play the guitar. 

though their personalities didn't match, that somehow made their friendship even stronger. donghyuck helped mark become more confident in himself and mark helped donghyuck become more empathetic and aware of how his words affected others. 

donghyuck was the yin to mark’s yang. they were inseparable. or so mark thought.


	2. disconnect

_1 year ago_

things change, that's the inevitable fact of life. 

it seems like just yesterday mark and donghyuck were attached at the hip, but that began to fall apart slowly but surely during mark’s junior year of high school. 

it started out small; donghyuck coming over less, not texting each other everyday, finding and making other friends. 

they smile and wave at each other in the hallways, occasionally making small talk, but it wasn’t the same. their conversations don’t stray from the topic of school or their hobbies, and they’re never longer than 10 minutes. 

that winter break, donghyuck doesn’t show up on mark’s doorstep. not even once. 

the only time mark sees donghyuck over break is through glimpses out of his bedroom window, when donghyuck is walking into his house with his new friends, or getting into the car with his family. 

mark tells himself that it’s fine, and that things could go back to the way they used to be, if they wanted. 

but donghyuck seems to be fine with the way things are, so mark tries to adjust accordingly. 

mark joins the basketball team and runs for president of the student council in hopes that keeping himself busy will fill the gap donghyuck has left. 

the basketball team gives him the opportunity to make friends with jeno, a boy with an endearing eye smile, and yukhei, a transfer student from china who’s as loud as he is tall. 

donghyuck joins the archery club and helps out backstage during theater productions, something mark has to learn through overheard conversations in class instead of donghyuck himself. 

they’ve stopped trying to keep in touch completely, interacting only through tight lipped smiles when they make eye contact with each other in the halls. 

mark feels a pang in his chest whenever he sees donghyuck change direction when mark walks towards him, even though he tries to be subtle about it. he’s not sure what he did to make donghyuck want to cut him off, but at this point he’s too afraid to ask. 

donghyuck’s attitude takes a turn for the worse after spring break. 

mark spots donghyuck standing by the bench in front of the school with his friends renjun and jaemin, skin looking even more sunkissed and glowing than usual probably due to the amount of time he spent outdoors over break. his once red hair is now a coppery orange color, complimenting his complexion. 

mark runs a hand through his own hair, now black instead of brown, the short strands from his new undercut still slightly unfamiliar to his fingers. 

donghyuck’s eyes flick towards mark for a split second before he looks away again, smile looking slightly more strained. renjun and jaemin also turn their heads to glance at mark, their expressions unreadable, making mark’s skin prickle. 

mark ducks his head and walks toward the school doors, only to have the breath knocked out of him when he crashed into something solid. he stumbles backwards and looks up, an apology on the tip of his tongue, but he’s unable to open his mouth when he sees who’s in front of him. 

donghyuck has a look of disdain on his face, something that mark has seen a thousand times, but never directed at him. 

“watch where you’re going canada, just because you’re captain of the basketball team doesn’t mean you can go around walking into people.” 

mark’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise at donghyuck’s cutting tone. it takes him a moment to recover before he’s muttering “sorry, i spaced out.” 

“clearly,” donghyuck snorts. “get your head out of the clouds, i don’t want this to be a reoccurring event.” 

donghyuck turns on his heel, brushing past mark to walk into the school, renjun and jaemin close behind, giving each other a look that mark can’t decipher.

mark is almost late to his first class, head buzzing in confusion from donghyuck’s cold behavior.  
unsurprisingly, donghyuck doesn’t explain the change of heart, but the snide remarks don’t stop. 

whenever mark makes even the slightest of mistakes, it seems like donghyuck is always there, waiting to give his two cents. 

mark can only bend so much before he breaks. 

“what the hell is your problem with me?” mark yells, face flushed from how frustrated he feels.

they’re in front of the gymnasium doors, hall empty except for them. 

mark was about to lock up after cleaning the gym from basketball practice when he gets knocked to the ground by a certain copper haired boy with a bow slung over his shoulder. 

donghyuck looks down, eyes blazing with an unspoken challenge. “oh, the puppy tries to bark, how cute. you were in my way, didn’t think you’d get knocked on your ass by a little tap.” 

mark pushes himself off the floor, stepping towards donghyuck and shoving his shoulder. 

“i haven’t done shit to you, yet you keep antagonizing me every single day. if you have a problem with me then say it to my face, donghyuck. i’m tired of whatever game you’re trying to play.” 

donghyuck scoffs, moving forward and shoving mark in retaliation. 

“my problem? you might not have done anything to me directly but your presence is enough to irritate me,” donghyuck replies, face morphing into a frown. “you walk around with those other meatheads from the team like you own the place, and you’re always spouting bullshit about leading a balanced lifestyle like you’re some kind of motivational speaker. could you be any more entitled?” 

mark blinks, trying to process donghyuck’s words. 

“you’re not making any sense,” mark retaliates. “you’re just acting like a child, you have no real grounds to dislike me.”

donghyuck’s face darkens as he re-adjusts the bow on his shoulder. “i don’t need to explain myself any further to you, canada. i said what i said, and i meant it.” 

“fine, then don’t,” mark snaps, crossing his arms. “but some advice: you’re halfway through high school now, it’s time for you to grow up.” 

“don’t patronize me, you have no right to try to tell me what to do,” donghyuck hisses, eyes narrowing even further.

“i do when you’re acting like this,” mark says quietly, features softening as he looks directly into donghyuck’s eyes. “this isn’t you, hyuck. what happened to you?” 

donghyuck’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second, but it’s gone as quickly as it came.

“you can’t call me that anymore,” donghyuck states, his cold facade faltering slightly. “you don’t know me anymore.” 

donghyuck’s face turns blank as he speaks, making his words cut mark that much deeper. 

the air is still as they stare at each other, unspoken words weighing heavy on mark’s tongue. half of him wants to lay everything out in the open, while the other half wants to hold on to the remaining shreds of his pride. 

“donghyuck—”

“don’t,” donghyuck interrupts, mouth set into a line. “your time is over mark lee. i’m taking control of this school now.”

mark continues to stand in front of the gym long after donghyuck has walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [twt](http://www.twitter.com/honeytteoks) and [curiouscat](http://www.curiouscat.me/fairy_vmin) (:


	3. remember when

the first time donghyuck sees mark, he was peeking over the side of his house, watching donghyuck and his parents carry their boxes into their new home. 

mark was slightly taller than him, with floppy black hair and rounded cheeks, his eyebrows arched in a way that reminded donghyuck of the seagulls that flew around the beaches in jeju. mark was eager to be his friend, always willing to share whatever he had without any hesitation. 

that summer, mark and donghyuck were practically inseparable. donghyuck learned that mark was born in canada, but moved to seoul a couple of years back because of his dad. he learned that mark hates seafood, green tea, and even ketchup -- which donghyuck had to take a few minutes to process, because who doesn’t like ketchup? 

donghyuck learned that mark’s favorite color is blue, that his favorite season was fall, and that he loved watermelon. they must have eaten at least 15 over the course of the summer, and while donghyuck got tired of it after a while, mark’s shining eyes and genuine excitement made it worth it. 

it may not be the case now, but donghyuck had been on the shy side when he was younger, preferring to observe people before he decided to be their friend. mark was the opposite, striking up conversation with everyone who crossed his path, nose scrunching when he smiles wide. 

mark had a lot of friends, which used to make donghyuck nervous, worried that mark would replace him. donghyuck told him as much one day when they were sitting on the swingset, and mark stopped swinging to look donghyuck in the eye and say he’d always be his #1. the uneasiness in donghyuck’s stomach disappeared after that. 

it was easy for a while, their friendship growing stronger through the years, being able to read each other’s facial expressions and body language instead of using words. it was the kind of friendship that you’d see on television except better, because they didn’t have to act. they could be themselves without the fear of being judged, because they’ve been through everything together. 

the trouble begins when donghyuck realizes that what he feels for mark is more than friendship, and it scares him. 

he’s 15, and while everyone around him starts dabbling in relationships, he’s thinking about the fact that no one catches his attention other than his best friend. 

donghyuck tries to forget, tries to shove the feelings into a box that’s pushed to the back of his mind, but it seems like the more he tries, the harder it is to hide. 

he begins to wonder when the baby fat melted off of mark’s face, revealing high cheekbones and a sharp jawline. wonders when mark’s shoulders broadened and his voice dropped, making him look less like a boy and more like a man. wonders when he started feeling a pang in his chest whenever mark set his wide brown eyes and soft smile at anyone other than him. wonders if he would ever have the courage to confess. 

as it turns out, donghyuck is a coward. 

in hopes of getting over his feelings, donghyuck tries to rely on mark less. he makes friends with jaemin, the caffeine crazy boy from his biology class, and renjun, the sarcastic but funny chinese student from his art class. but of course, donghyuck should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. 

mark would be nothing without his persistence, and donghyuck finds himself wavering between being honest and keeping his mouth shut to preserve the friendship they’ve worked so hard to build. 

mark texts more when donghyuck purposely doesn’t respond, shows up at donghyuck’s doorstep with food and a movie suggestion when donghyuck manages to avoid him for a few days, and envelops donghyuck in bone crushing hugs whenever they see each other in the hallway. 

donghyuck is slipping, because mark makes it too easy to like him, makes it hard to pull away. 

“you know you’re just making things harder on yourself by bottling everything up, right?” renjun casually asks, not looking up from the sketch he’s working on. “it’s better to know for sure instead of spending every day wondering what could be.” 

“i’ll only ruin things if i tell him. don’t worry, i’ll handle it,” donghyuck reassures him.

renjun glances upwards, studying donghyuck’s face before sighing and turning his attention back to his sketch. 

“suit yourself, but don’t regret your decision.” 

donghyuck strengthens his resolve, throwing himself into his studies and hanging out with renjun and jaemin instead of mark. their hallway conversations dwindle down to awkward waves and smiles, and their daily texts have stopped altogether. donghyuck pretends that he doesn’t see the flash of hurt that goes through mark’s eyes when he ducks his head to avoid eye contact when they see each other, pretends that it doesn’t hurt him too. 

but mark deserved better than him. someone who could shine just as brightly, someone he could be proud to show off. hell, he didn’t even know if mark was into guys. to be honest, donghyuck didn’t know he was into guys either until he realized that mark made his heart flutter in a way that no girl ever could. 

that winter break, donghyuck didn’t allow himself to step foot on mark’s doorstep, no matter how much he wanted to. renjun and jaemin came over often, they played video games and watched movies and sat in cafes drinking hot chocolate. it was almost enough to keep his mind from wandering. 

but he could see the concern in his mom’s eyes when she asked why mark didn’t come over anymore, why donghyuck had stopped talking about him. he had smiled and lied through his teeth, saying that they weren’t kids anymore, that they’re growing up and growing apart and that it was okay. his mom didn’t ask any more questions after that, but donghyuck had a feeling that she didn’t fully believe him. 

when they went back to school, donghyuck finds out that mark joined the basketball team and is running for student council president. he gets the position, to no one’s surprise. mark lee is fully capable of anything that’s thrown his way, a golden boy in every aspect of the word. 

if mark was popular before, he’s a superstar now. 

he easily takes the captain position on the basketball team, and his voice is heard throughout the entire school during the morning announcements every day. mark is never in the hallways by himself, always surrounded by members of the basketball team or acquaintances he’s made by working as student council president. donghyuck pretends that he doesn’t see, doesn’t care. (but he does.) 

renjun and jaemin have told donghyuck that he’s too impulsive for his own good more than a few times, and they’re right, but that doesn’t stop him. 

so when he decides that he’s going to make mark his rival in his attempt to get over him, he doesn’t consult with either of his friends. he just goes for it, as he usually does. 

and as usual, things don’t turn out like he planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [twt](http://www.twitter.com/honeytteoks) and [curiouscat](http://www.curiouscat.me/fairy_vmin) (:

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/peachyhoneys)  
> [curiouscat](http://www.curiouscat.me/fairy_vmin)
> 
> (:


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